“The harshest tyranny is that which acts under the protection of legality and the banner of justice.”

Although born in a prosperous realm, we did not believe that its boundaries should limit our knowledge, and that the lore of the East should alone enlighten us.

The English are busy folk; they have no time in which to be polite.

The prejudices of superstition are superior to all others, and have the strongest influence on the human mind.

When God endowed human beings with brains, He did not intend to guarantee them.

Friendship is a contract in which we render small services in expectation of big ones.

It is not the young people that degenerate; they are not spoiled till those of mature age are already sunk into corruption.

The less men think, the more they talk.

Political liberty in a citizen is that tranquillity of spirit which comes from the opinion each one has of his security, and in order for him to have this liberty the government must be such that one citizen cannot fear another citizen.

A fondness for reading changes the inevitable dull hours of our life into exquisite hours of delight.

The spirit of commerce… renders every man willing to live on his own property…& prevents the growth of luxury.

Society is the union of men and not the men themselves.

What unhappy beings men are! They constantly waver between false hopes and silly fears, and instead of relying on reason they create monsters to frighten themselves with, and phantoms which lead them astray.

With truths of a certain kind, it is not enough to make them appear convincing: one must also make them felt. Of such kind are moral truths.

In the state of nature… all men are born equal, but they cannot continue in this equality. Society makes them lose it, and they recover it only by the protection of the law.

Men should be bewailed at their birth, and not at their death.

An author is a fool who, not content with boring those he lives with, insists on boring future generations.

A nation that fails to plan intelligently for the development and protection of its precious waters will be condemned to wither because of its shortsightedness. The hard lessons of history are clear, written on the deserted sands and ruins of once proud civilizations.

An excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie; for an excuse is a lie guarded.

Yeah Ernie, its called defense, I mean I wouldn’t know anything about it personally but I’ve heard about it through the grapevine.

Like the resource it seeks to protect, wildlife conservation must be dynamic, changing as conditions change, seeking always to become more effective.

The body is but a vessel to carry the soul. A container ship to protect it as it passes through this world.

Protect your dreams from your nightmare.

I believe that fairness creams protect the skin against the harsh effects of the sun.

As long as white people put people of color, African Americans and Latinos, in the same dispensable bag, and look at our children of color as insignificant and treat women of color as not as deserving of protection as white women, we will never achieve true equality.